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A press conference held by National Health Commission of China on January 12, 2025. Photo: CCTV

There's no new infectious disease emerged in China recently; and overall positive rate for human metapneumovirus (HMPV) testing is rising but fluctuating near a plateau, with a decline observed in northern China, said Chinese health officials on Sunday. They also dismissed claims of medical resource strain due to recent spike of respiratory infectious diseases, said medicines are in adequate supply. 

Currently, China is suffering from peak season for respiratory infectious diseases, and various pathogens can cause respiratory infections. 

Wang Liping, a research fellow at the China CDC said at a news briefing that monitoring shows that influenza is the primary disease leading to visits by patients with acute respiratory infections in medical institutions. 

According to monitoring data, influenza is currently in a seasonal epidemic phase, with the intensity of the outbreak at a moderate level in most provinces, Wang said. At present, the upward trend in the influenza positivity rate has begun to slow down. As primary and secondary schools across the country gradually enter their winter break, it is expected that the level of influenza activity may decline in the latter half of this month.

The influenza virus positivity rate among China's outpatient and emergency influenza drug cases increased by 3.8 percent compared with two weeks ago but remained below the level of the same period last year, said Gao Xinqiang, an official from China's National Health Commission (NHC), at the conference. 

In recent days, some foreign media including CNN, BBC and the Washington Post have reported a spike in HMPV cases in China, alleging that it has overwhelmed hospitals, with some attempting to draw parallels to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wang said that HMPV is not a new variant and has coexisted with humans for several decades, and the recent increase in reports of HMPV is due to advancements in detection methods.

She said that currently, the overall positive rate for HMPV testing is rising but fluctuating near a plateau, with a decline observed in northern China. Moreover, the positive rate among patients under 14 years old has begun to decrease.

Overall, the levels of coronavirus and other pathogens remain relatively low in terms of prevalence, said Wang, noting that currently, various respiratory infectious diseases in China are known, and no new infectious diseases have emerged.

To better meet the medical needs of the public, Gao said both the NHC and CDC have been proactively planning and implementing measures since October of last year, including daily monitoring, continuous coordination and the strengthening of nationwide initiatives while providing targeted guidance for key provinces and cities, to ensure that medical services remain stable and orderly. 

Gao said that the incidence of flu is relatively high recently, but it has not exceeded the level of the previous year's epidemic season. The number of patients in fever clinics and emergency departments nationwide has shown a certain upward trend, but overall, it remains below the level of the same period last year, and there has been no significant strain on medical resources.

Wang Xiaoyang, an official from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, assured the public that, at present, a wide variety of drugs for respiratory diseases are available, and the production capacity and output are substantial, and these are sufficient to meet public demand.

For example, the daily production capacity of oseltamivir, a widely used antiviral medication for the flu, is 1.56 million doses, with inventory exceeding 47 million doses, including more than 16 million doses of pediatric granules; the daily production of Lianhua Qingwen -- a widely used traditional Chinese medicine for treating COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses -- is 120 million capsules, with inventory exceeding 86 million boxes; and the daily production capacity of Ibuprofen has reached 150 million tablets, with plans in place to scale up production if needed, Wang explained. 

Wang from the CDC noted that H1N1 is the dominant flu strain in China. The NHC and CDC conducted antigenic analysis on the recently isolated H1N1 influenza viruses, showing a strong match with this year's flu vaccine, confirming its effectiveness. Resistance analysis shows that the currently circulating influenza viruses are sensitive to antiviral medications, ensuring the effectiveness of drug treatments.